Clinton D. McKinnon

Education

He graduated from Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California. McKinnon attended Stanford University in 1924, attended the University of Geneva in 1930, and received a BA from University of Redlands in 1930.

Early career

McKinnon was a journalist and owned newspapers in Texas and California. In 1942, Time described McKinnon as "a jockey-sized little fireball with unruly black hair and bounding energy" who started several local throwaway newspapers in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley that specialized in neighborhood or industry-focused human interest stories, selling ads to local merchants.

Later career

McKinnon was a delegate to the 1952 and 1956 Democratic National Conventions.

McKinnon preferred to be known as a journalist rather than a politician. In December 1952, as he prepared to leave office, he bought the Los Angeles Daily News, which he sold two years later.

His other ventures included the La Jolla Light, Coronado Journal, and radio station KSDJ (now KCBQ).

Family

McKinnon and his wife Lucille had two sons, Clinton Daniel (Dan) and Michael Dean (Mike), and a daughter Connie.

Mike, who died in 2012, was the majority stockholder in McKinnon Broadcasting, owner of San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine, and a Texas state legislator from 1972 to 1976. Dan, the former owner of KSON radio, was a minority stockholder in McKinnon Broadcasting, ran for US Congress as a Republican in 1980, and was national campaign chairman for the Duncan Hunter for President campaign in 2008.